


Black(mail) Eagles

by Tockipped



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22119472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tockipped/pseuds/Tockipped
Summary: When Bernadetta accidentally does something to Linhardt, she tells him she'll do anything to keep him quiet. While he never had any intention to do so, he decides this is the perfect opportunity for some crest research.If only things were that simple sometimes.
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Is it really blackmail of the person isn't actually forcing you to do something to keep them quiet? Who knows, I just like the title.
> 
> I plan to update the tags as things go and new characters appear.

Midnight. A gentle quiet that washes over Garreg Mach. Even the Knights of Seiros that patrol the grounds are fewer in number this time of night, their shifts switching between patrols. Almost nobody around. And that makes it the perfect time to sneak around. Though for Bernadetta there is only one place to sneak to, the kitchen. She knew that that morning her favorite kind of cake had been baked, but day time was often to crowded for her to comfortably be there. She was willing to risk a bit of trouble to get her hands on a slice or two for her room by breaking curfew.

Getting caught was never a problem for her though. Bernadetta snuck out at this time once or twice a week so she could have a meal on the days she wasn't able to go with everyone else. The knight patrols were also very exact, very predictable. It took a Moon or two, but she was able to track when she could go, and when she needed to hide. A perfect science, if there ever was one.

Speaking of perfect, she made it to the kitchen and found her prize, three generously sized slices of cake had been left behind. Usually there's only once slice, two on a good day. But they were always thinner slices. "Looks like Bernie gets cake for the next couple days." Her voice barely above a whisper. She was almost smiling about it. All she had to do now was make it back to her room, so that she could saver every bite. Upon leaving the kitchen and making it back outside, her plan went very, very, wrong.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder and spoke to her.

"What are you doing out here so late?"

Oh Goddess she was caught. When she left her room she thought she was willing to get in some trouble, but now that it was actually happening she found that she wasn't. If she got in trouble with the guards, the guards would surely inform Rhea, who would surely inform her father, who would surely have her sent back home. Oh Goddess she couldn't go back home. Anywhere but home. Panic, fear, and anxiety crept up to her. Her goose was cooked, her jig was up. She couldn't even think of a third think she was so terrified. Just when she thought she had no options, it happened.

A flash of light. A light that would only shine in certain situations. It was the power of her crest coming forth. Her body began to move faster than she could process. With one quick motion, one of her hands grabbed on to her mystery assailant's hand, and her other on their arm. Adrenaline and crest power coursing throughout, Bernadetta gathered the strength to flip her witness over her, and slamming them into the ground.

One problem now turned to two as the rush faded from her, and Bernadetta could actually see what she did to them. The first was in the process of using both hands to flip her no longer mystery person to the ground, she ended up dropping her pilfered cake slices upon the ground. Her entire trip became for nothing within the span of seconds. The fallen cake problem though was nothing compared to the second problem. The person she flipped wasn't a guard, it was a student. _Oh no._ A student in the Black Eagle house. _Oh no._ The house she was in. _Oh_ _no._ Not only that, but it was someone in her class. _Oh no._ Said classmate now unconscious on the ground before her. _Oh no._ Terror upon her face as she gazed at the victim before her.

Linhardt von Hevring lay unconscious before her.

_Oh no._


	2. Chapter 2

This was bad. So very bad. She just attacked one of her classmates. Garreg Mach was very strict about that, the only time students could fight was during sparring matches and weapon tournaments. This was worse than getting caught after hours, though that would hardly matter since the school would no doubt tell her father of her crime. Not to mention Linhardt at her feet. His family was one of the biggest names in the empire. One letter to his father about this and that would be the end for her. His father would surely tell her father, and if her father found out that she assaulted a noble. She didn't even want to think of that.

Oh Goddess this couldn't get any worse.

"I think I heard something over there."

It got worse.

Of course the guards heard that. You can't just quietly slam someone into the ground. It's not like she meant to, though she didn't think that really mattered. All Bernadetta knew was that she had to get out of there, and fast. But there was one problem with that. Linhardt. He was here too now, and she couldn't just leave him where he was. It was bad enough she was the one to knock him out, she couldn't let him risk getting in trouble for being out after curfew either. That left only one option for her, she had to sneak him out with her.

Easier said than done. For starters he was heavy. Or at least moving him around would be more weight than she was used to. Second, the guards that we're coming. That meant if they though an intruder was on monastery grounds, they'd surely be out of their usually routes. Now not only did she have extra weight, but she'd have to potentially find a new route back to the dorm rooms. "It's now or never Bernie." Taking a deep breath, she made her way back to the rooms.

Twenty minutes. It took thirty minutes of anxiety riddled sneaking to get back. It usually only took maybe 5, but sure enough she caused the patrols out of their usual routes to find their would be intruder. Not to mention Bernadetta accidentally punched Linhardt in the face, the panic there took an extra few minutes before she could call back down. In her defense, on her way back he started sounding like he was coming to. In her panic of that happening, her first instinct was to punch the person making the noise. She had though it was a guard at first, though she wasn't sure why punching was her brains first option.

Nevertheless, she got him back to his room and in to his bed. Mission accomplished. Her room was a quick walk so she didn't need to worry to much about it. That wasn't what she was worried about though. She was more worried on if he would remember this. If she was lucky, maybe the slam into the ground and punch to the face wiped his memory of the whole thing. At least then, she could just act like nothing happened. Nothing to worry about.

She couldn't help but groan. "Nice going Bernie, you didn't get your cake, and now you might be in trouble for the rest of your life. Stupid useless Bernie, Linhardt is gonna tell everyone what you did and they're all gonna hate you too. And then he's gonna tell his father what happened and then it's curtains for you."

To much had happened for her for one night, she decided to just go to bed. Normally she'd stay up a bit longer and see, but there was always another time. Goddess willing. 


	3. Chapter 3

Linhardt's entire body was in pain. How could it not? He was slammed into a concrete ground by Bernadetta, though that only explained why the back side of him hurt. The reason his face hurt was a mystery. He wasn't even aware she was strong enough to do that. What he was aware of at least was that Bernadetta had used her crest while doing so. The whole thing lasted only a second or two, but he dealt with crests often enough to recognize that flash of light in an instant. Perhaps that is where her strength came from. Prince Dimitri was infamous for his crest to go off, usually causing him to accidentally destroy whatever he was using at the moment. Perhaps the speed with which it happened was her crests doing. Few people could possibly have a reaction time that exact.

In any case it didn't matter, he was going to unravel the secrets of her crest of Indech. Sure professor Hanneman was an option for it, he too bore the crest of Indech after all, but Hanneman was the instructor for the Blue Lion house and was often busy teaching his class or on crest research of his own. He had enough respect to not risk interfering with someone else's crest research. With Bernadetta, he had someone he had to work with everyday. A benefit to being classmates. All he had to do was find her. Easier said than done is his current condition. Any movement his body made was hell. It looked like today would be a skip day from class. Not like he had perfect attendance anyway, he missed class at least twice a week because of his napping. In fact if he could get out of bed he'd be happy to go to class, if for no other reason than to question Bernadetta about her crest. As it was though, he couldn't make it to the classroom in his current condition, let alone get out of bed.

_Knock knock knock._

"Linhardt are you in there? I wish to make sure you are attending class today," It was Ferdinand. No one save for Caspar would speak this loud so early, though Caspar would never speak so eloquently. "As nobles we must always do our best to set an example of exemplary attendance, as well as effort in our studies while we are here. I apologise if I am waking you, but it is imperative you do not sleep through classes." It wasn't that he hated Ferdinand by any means, it was just that sometimes he was a bit to much. Always so very loud, each word beaming with the pride of his nobility. Overly driven to the point of stubbornness at times, though if Linhardt was being honest wasn't the worst quality in a person. The problem was that often that drive was often directed at him, always trying to shape him into Ferdinand's vision of nobility. On the plus side, he was always willing to help, and right now Linhardt was in need of that.

"Yes Ferdinand I'm in here, though I may be in need of assistance. Could you come in please?" He wasn't usually one to ask people for help, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Within an instant, Ferdinand made his way in. "Is everything alright Linhardt, it is rather unlike you to lay in a bed and not be sleeping in it." If anyone else had said it, he may have taken that as an insult, but he wasn't even sure Ferdinand was capable of that. He was far to nice for his own good.

"I can't really say that I am right now, no. It seems that I have somehow injured myself, perhaps I feel out of my bed while I slept," An easy enough lie for him to make. No need to let his classmate know the whole story. "I would go to Professor Manuela's office for healing, but by now she should heading to our classroom. Not to mention the pain coursing though my every movement. Could you please find either Mercedes or Marianne. Either of their healing magics should be sufficient for my injuries." Personally he hoped it would be Marianne to show up, it would be a great opportunity to see if he could learn about her secret crest.

Ferdinand looked like he had a though about that. "Hmm, I am not sure I can do that," Was he saying no? Was the great Ferdinand von Aegir leaving someone in need? " While it is apparent that you are in need of assistance, I can not in good conscience rob either Mercedes or Marianne of their time for learning. No doubt by now they are also on their way to their respective classrooms." So what was he supposed to do then? Just lay in bed until classes ended? Admittedly that actually didn't sound to bad. "No, what I must do is take you to professor Manuela myself."

"Didn't you listen when I said I can't move? How do you expect to get me to our classroom to see professor Manuela?" He couldn't help but sigh. Surely Ferdinand wasn't planning on literally dragging him all the way was he?

"I will carry you there myself."

Or maybe he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look a chapter focusing on Linhardt. Ideally I'm going to try to have the focus go between him and Bernadetta, we'll see how that goes.


	4. Chapter 4

Leave it to Ferdinand to not do something half-assed. No, he had to do everything with one hundred and ten percent. So here Linhardt was, being carried like a bride to be by him across the monastery. If that weren't bad enough, it felt like everyone's eyes were on the pair, he swore he heard someone mutter something about lovebirds as they passed. Love? He had no time for that, he was only 16. Not to mention to court someone would absolutely take to much time and effort, both of which could be applied to better things. Like research and lazing about. The only benefit of how he was being carried was that Ferdinand was being surprisingly gentle as they made their way to the classroom. His slower walking meant that Linhardt wasn't being bumped to much while they were moving. The slower movement did mean it would take a bit longer to get there, but around 10 minutes after classes should have started they made it.

And now everyone in class was staring at them too. Various stages of confusion throughout the room. Edelgard and Hubert seemed to share a look with each other. It almost looks like they were smirking about it. Strange. Dorothea looked at him, then to Ferdinand, then gave him a look that almost look apologetic. Like she felt bad for him for some reason. Petra didn't seem any different. Perhaps physical interaction between people was looked at differently in Brigid, he would have to ask her about that sometime. Cultural differences could be an interesting study. Caspar looked strangely happy about it? He had this thumbs up for some reason, and seemed to mouth something along the line of "get it" to one of them. He wasn't sure exactly what that meant, or which of them he was saying it to, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know either of those. Bernadetta…wasn't there. Oh. Given her track record he ultimately wasn't to surprised by that. Though he did feel a pang of disappointment in not seeing her there.

"If you two lovebirds are quite done distracting my class," There was the lovebirds comment again. "I'd like to start the lesson in full. Linhardt would you please get down from Ferdinand and then both of you get into your seat." Professor Manuela didn't sound to thrilled about them interrupting class. That woman could be honestly scary at times. Ferdinand didn't seem to bothered by it though, he had a classmate to worry about more.

"My apologies professor, but I believe Linhardt is in need of assistance. It seems he took a fall before and was in no condition to make it here on his own. I took the liberty of bringing him here so you could help him. I am terribly sorry for it causing us to be late. Know that I would never risk an absence intentionally." He was always very direct in what he said, and it seemed his earnestness was effective on their teacher.

"Oh you poor thing Linhardt," She almost sounded like a different person now, as if she was in nurse mode. It probably helped that she was, in fact, the school's nurse. "Here, lay him down on my desk. Just make sure you're careful, we don't need him to be hurt anymore that he is."

He was always one for laying around where ever he pleased, but flat on a school desk was not the ideal place in his mind. It was one thing to fall asleep sitting at ones desk, you could at least lay your head in your arms. At least with Manuela's healing it wouldn't feel as bad in a minute. Or at least that was the plan. Right now his professor seemed to have a slightly different idea in mind.

"You know Linhardt, this is actually a perfect opportunity for some practice. Ok class, who would like to give their skill in faith magic a try and help our poor Linhardt here?" A training dummy? He was being made a glorified training dummy? At least he wasn't being used to practice reason based magics. There'd be nothing left of him to heal. How good of healers could his classmates even be?

As it turned out, not very good. Only three of them actually tried at all, and at best he only felt a slight amount of relief.

"Hey, Linhardt, couldn't you just heal yourself?" Caspar asked him. "I mean you're good with this stuff, you might as well just do it yourself."

"Good question Caspar," Linhardt was going to say something, but Manuela beat him to it. At least at this point she was healing him herself now. Within moments he was feeling in top shape. "Class, who can answer Caspar's question, why could Linhardt not heal his own injuries?"

"I believe it is because such magic is drawn from one's self, and therefore using it on one's self would simply bring the magic back to how it was originally."

"That's correct, thank you Edelgard." She may not have been much of a healer, but at least she understood the concepts. "Now then Linhardt, please go to your seat and we'll start our lesson properly on the healing arts."

The good news was his body was no longer in pain. A professional healer really could do wonders. The bad news was now he was stuck in said wonder's class, learning the basics of a subject he already knew. Of the eight students in the Black Eagles' advanced course, he was the only one that actually knew that material. He may have considered staying if it were something new, something he didn't know. After all Bernadetta more than likely not going anywhere any time soon. But relearning basics was not how he planned on spending his day.

"Ah, professor Manuela, would it be alright if I were excused from today's lesson?" It was worth a shot. "Not that I don't find your lectures to be stimulating, it's simply that I already have more than a basic knowledge on the subject."

"I suppose that's fine," Perfect. "You may be excused for today." Now he had all day to work on his new research topic. "Wait one moment though Linhardt."

What could she possibly want with him now? She just excused him, she used him as a practice dummy beforehand, what else could she possibly need of him?

"I know you're probably just going to sleep the day away," Any other day and she probably wouldn't have been wrong. "But I think instead I'm going to put you to work. I want you to visit Bernadetta and tutor her on this week's lessons. She keeps missing classes, and it won't do her any good to fail her exams because she isn't learning the material. There's an exam at the end of the week on this and I'd like her to have a chance to pass."

Oh Goddess, Manuela just gave him the perfect opportunity on a silver platter. Two birds with one stone as the saying went. He already was planning on going right to Bernadetta's to talk to her about her crest, but if that plan fell through, he had the tutoring as a fall back. Maybe while helping her, he could still get a little information out of her.

"That sounds quite agreeable Professor," he could barely hide his tone of contentment. "In fact, I'll head over there right now to help her get started. I'm certain we'll have quite a bit to go over."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look the actual plot is actually about to happen. I wonder how that will go.


End file.
